1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to containers and more particularly to a container which is easily opened, collapsible and foldable for disposal and recyclable purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cardboard containers are known in the art. Exemplary of these containers are U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,474 to Schaus; U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,239 to Wilcox; U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,509 to Goodyear and U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,924 to Neff. Also known in the art are containers used for shipping and display purposes. Such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,271 to Wosaba; U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,785 to Gordon; U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,059 to Martin and U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,541 to Riddell. Many of the aforementioned containers utilize tear strips for opening the container. Exemplary of these tear strips is U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,104 to Buttery. U.S. Pat. No. 809,050 to Goldman teaches an alternative to the tear strip.
While a number of these containers are provided with a method to ease opening, none of these containers provide a means to ease disposal. Further, conventional containers require a knife or razor blade to open and break down for disposal. For instance, in a typical grocery store, an employee is hired full time to specifically cut open and break down boxes. This cutting operation presents a risk of injury to the employee and to the goods inside. Additionally, the knife must be replaced when it becomes dull, an additional and unnecessary cost.
Thus, the problem with conventional containers is the lack of simplicity in opening and disposal once the container is opened. Prior art attempts to deal with the opening problem, but fails to deal with disposal. The use of a knife to cut up the container in order to fold and break down the container presents cost and safety problems to which this invention is addressed.